Sheamus' World Title Reign

[Troy]

With CM Punk getting plenty of attention for his 300+ day WWE title reign it seems like Sheamus' World title reign has slipped under the radar. At the moment he has held the title for 176 days which is the third longest World heavyweight title reign in WWE history only behind Batista's 282 day reign and Triple H's 280 day title reign. That is a huge milestone for Sheamus and for the World title yet it has been overshadowed by CM Punk's extensive reign. Both are great acheivements and should both be talked up on RAW and Smackdown, it would be good if Sheamus' title reign got a bit more attention.

He won the title back at WM28 in controversial fashion when he beat Daniel Bryan for the title in eighteen seconds after a brogue kick. After that he has been a strong champion and it has been good for Smackdown to get a dominant, stable champion. He has had a much bigger presence on RAW than previous World champions and that can only be good for the blue brand. He is actually very over as a face with the live crowds and is one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE at the moment. He carries himself well as champion and as the number one guy on the brand.

As champion he has had some good matches and most importantly the World title has been the biggest focus on the Smackdown brand throughout his title reign. Dolph Ziggler still has the MITB briefcase so the cash in is always around the corner but until then Sheamus can continue to head towards Batista's record title reign.

What are your opinions on Sheamus' title reign? When do you think it will end and will it be Ziggler that ends it?

 

[Killz]

The absolute best build and auto-storyline in the current situation is for Dolph to cash-in on the uber-strong, ridiculously over, face champion in Sheamus. A heel Orton won't work. People don't care about ADR enough. Big Show was the victim of Daniel Bryan already so that doesn't particularly work. I think, and hope, this is all building to Ziggler stopping a record breaking title reign by screwing over Sheamus. It writes itself really.

I like Sheamus the person, as you said he carries himself well and in many ways he's everything you want as a world champion. He's in the same mould as Cena, hard working, over, dedicated to the sport, in with management, does quite a bit of media and stuff for good causes too.

We do, however, live in a time where superstars don't get to showcase their absolute wrestling talent for the sake of signature moves everyone can recognise a mile away. This hurts Sheamus because it paints the perception (or reality, I couldn't actually tell you) that Sheamus is a one-trick pony. I like the guy but I do not like watching him wrestle. The fact Ziggler is there, the best seller in the business, leaps and bounds ahead of other 'on-the-cusp' talent when he's actually given the mic and crazy athletic, frustrates me no end because I'd much rather watch Dolph.

Still, kudos on the title reign and he's a good company guy so fair enough.

 

[Nevermore Arcanum]

I don't think the WHC has enough history to put it on par with the WWE title, unless you count the days when
it was known as the WCW WHC. If you throw that in there, Sheamus still has a long way to go in the record
breaking department, because he still has to beat guys like Hogan, Flair, The Giant, etc.

 

[Troy]

True the World Heavyweight title will always play second fiddle to the WWE title because that is THE title in WWE. WWE could put it on a more even level if they wanted to but that would mean making Smackdown a legitimate challenger to RAW which isn't going to happen. I just think that WWE have let themselves down a bit by not pointing out how big this title reign has been from Sheamus.

I like your idea Killz with Ziggler being the one to end a record breaking title reign by a face to give him more heel heat. Sheamus needs to hold the title for another 107 days to break the record which would put it around the second week of January so maybe WWE could hold out until then for the cashin. Apparently Sheamus is in line to feud with Big Show next so that will take up a couple of PPVs and will extend the title reign by a couple more months.

I don't count the WCW title in the history as it is a completely different title and should remain separate.

 

[Embrace Thou Maryse]

Sheamus deserves to be an afterthought to Punk, he's incredibly one dimensional and is being booked as the ginger Cena...only Cena loses more than Sheamus. His reigns been dull with him winning every single match over and over again. Itd be a bad move to put the belt on Ziggler anytime soon as well in my opinion. I'm a huge Ziggler fan, hes a great talent but he hasn't been built up to ME status, WWE look set to have another Jack Swagger esque title reign on their hands where the Champ isn't booked credibly. You have to build someone up to World Title level then put the title on them, not the other way around.

 

[TKK]

I think that Sheamus has carried the belt well and has tried to make the best out of situations that don't benefit his reign or the belt. It has been a long run, but I think it's time to bring it to a close and let Ziggler have his run. The WHC title picture is very stale atm and bringing Ziggler as the top dog right from the get go would turn it upside down. Hopefully, they let Ziggler and Sheamus run together becuase they feed off of each other in ring and "Bertie" will stay away from any world title.

 

[Troy]

I am not trying to take anything away from Punk's title reign because it has been fantastic but I just can't comprehend why WWE themselves don't make more of Sheamus' title reign. I agree that now is not the right time to have Ziggler cash in but in the future that does look like the best option to take the title from Sheamus. As I said in my previous post Sheamus has over three months until he closes in on the record so WWE can aim to have something set up for Ziggler by then. Until then he can face guys like Show who wouldn't be given the title but would be good scalps for his title reign.

 

[Andrew]

The main reason why Sheamus's reign is over-looked by CM Punk is clearly because Sheamus has faced ADR like what... 5 times at a PPV and beaten him every single time.

CM Punk has beaten just about everyone in his 300+ day reign which makes him look much more credible.

 

[TKK]

Sheamus deserves to be an afterthought to Punk, he's incredibly one dimensional and is being booked as the ginger Cena...only Cena loses more than Sheamus. His reigns been dull with him winning every single match over and over again. Itd be a bad move to put the belt on Ziggler anytime soon as well in my opinion. I'm a huge Ziggler fan, hes a great talent but he hasn't been built up to ME status, WWE look set to have another Jack Swagger esque title reign on their hands where the Champ isn't booked credibly. You have to build someone up to World Title level then put the title on them, not the other way around.

Almost all of the MiTB winners have been mid carders and built as mid carders before cashing in. You don't have to look strong to take advantage of a situation, you probably should, but it's not a neccessity. Edge, Punk, Miz and Bryan were all propelled to main event status by the briefcase while, in mid card. Edge was challenging for the IC title the night he won the title. That's what makes MiTB such a good idea, it instantly creates a star.
Swagger had the possibility of becoming big after winning MiTB, but his lack of mic skills and somewhat laughable character made it near impossible. Even though his booking was shocking prior to winning, it would have been possible to get him over under the circumstances.

 

[Troy]

Since WM Sheamus' PPV title defenses have been;

Extreme Rules: Daniel Bryan
Over the Limit: Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton & Chris Jericho
No Way Out: Dolph Ziggler
Money In The Bank: Albert Del Rio
SummerSlam: Alberto Del Rio
Night of Champions: Alberto Del Rio

Who else has been there for Sheamus to beat on Smackdown?

Yes he has faced Del Rio at the last three PPVs but Orton has been off suspended for another Wellness Policy violation, Christian has been injured, Mark Henry has been injured, Daniel Bryan has moved to RAW. There were no other options for WWE for Sheamus. He has beaten all the top stars on Smackdown in title matches and hasn't been given the luxury of top names from RAW coming across to face him. Obviously this may change soon with Show potentially coming across to face Sheamus and it will be good to see him face someone else on PPV.

 

[Andrew]

If only they gave him a feud with Sandow or Rhodes... IF ONLY!

 

[Troy]

If only they gave him a feud with Sandow or Rhodes... IF ONLY!

I wouldn't mind seeing Sandow being given a shot after Big Show. Rhodes is an odd one because he has been stuck at the same level for so long I don't know how fans would react to him being in a title match. He needs a tweak or two to his character for it to work. They are pretty much the next top heels on Smackdown so it may happen by the end of the year.

 

[Nevermore Arcanum]

Maybe they should do something completely out of left field. Some low carder attacks Sheamus
out of the blue for weeks because he never caught a break in the company and that starts a new feud.
It'd be kind of ironic because that's exactly how Sheamus caught his break.

 

[The Cork]

He's been a way better champ than Punk, the only negative thing I could say about Shame is that they've turned him into Ginge Cena.

If he was a bit more badass and a bit less 'high fiving kids hands', then I could root for him more. As it is, he has a boring character, even more dull than CM Punk.

 

[TKK]

Maybe with a heel turn (if it ever happens) he can be a full on badass. There is so much potential there to make an 'unstoppable force' type character. I, personally, enjoyed his last heel run. More so when he was kicking people's skulls in than talking.